2 Crônicas 25

ARC · Chapter 25/36

1Era Amasias da edade de vinte e cinco annos, quando começou a reinar, e reinou vinte e nove annos em Jerusalem: e era o nome de sua mãe Joadan, de Jerusalem.

2E fez o que era recto aos olhos do Senhor, porém não com coração inteiro.

3Succedeu pois que, sendo-lhe o reino já confirmado, matou a seus servos que feriram o rei seu pae;

4Porém não matou a seus filhos: mas fez como na lei está escripto, no livro de Moysés, como o Senhor ordenou, dizendo: Não morrerão os paes pelos filhos, nem os filhos morrerão pelos paes; mas cada um morrerá pelo seu peccado

5E Amasias ajuntou a Judah e os poz segundo as casas dos paes, por chefes de milhares, e por chefes de centenas, por todo o Judah e Benjamin; e os numerou, de vinte annos e d'ahi para cima, e achou d'elles trezentos mil escolhidos que sahiam ao exercito, e levavam lança e escudo.

6Tambem d'Israel tomou a soldo cem mil varões valentes, por cem talentos de prata.

7Porém um homem de Deus veiu a elle, dizendo: Oh rei, não deixes ir comtigo o exercito de Israel: porque o Senhor não é com Israel, a saber, com os filhos d'Ephraim.

8Se porém fôres, faze-o, esforça-te para a peleja; Deus te fará cair diante do inimigo; porque força ha em Deus para ajudar e para fazer cair

9E disse Amasias ao homem de Deus: Que se fará pois dos cem talentos de prata que dei ás tropas d'Israel? E disse o homem de Deus: Mais tem o Senhor que te dar do que isso.

10Então separou Amasias as tropas que lhe tinham vindo de Ephraim, para que se fossem ao seu logar; pelo que se accendeu a sua ira contra Judah, e voltaram para o seu logar em ardor d'ira.

11Esforçou-se pois Amasias, e conduziu o seu povo, e foi-se ao valle do sal; e feriu dos filhos de Seir dez mil.

12Tambem os filhos de Judah prenderam vivos dez mil, e os trouxeram ao cume da rocha; e do mais alto da rocha os lançaram d'alto abaixo, e todos arrebentaram.

13Porém os homens das tropas que Amasias despedira, para que não fossem com elle á peleja, deram sobre as cidades de Judah desde Samaria, até Beth-horon; e feriram d'elles tres mil, e saquearam grande despojo.

14E succedeu que, depois que Amasias veiu da matança dos idumeos, e trouxe comsigo os deuses dos filhos de Seir, tomou-os por seus deuses, e prostrou-se diante d'elles, e queimou-lhes incenso.

15Então a ira do Senhor se accendeu contra Amasias; e mandou-lhe um propheta que lhe disse: Porque buscaste deuses do povo, que a seu povo não livraram da tua mão?

16E succedeu que, fallando-lhe elle, lhe respondeu: Pozeram-te por conselheiro do rei? cala-te, porque te feririam? então o propheta parou, e disse: Bem vejo eu que já o Senhor deliberou destruir-te; porquanto fizeste isto, e não déste ouvidos a meu conselho.

17E, tendo tomado conselho, Amasias, rei de Judah, enviou a Joás, filho de Joachaz, filho de Jehu, rei d'Israel, a dizer: Vem, vejamo-nos cara a cara.

18Porém Joás, rei d'Israel, mandou dizer a Amasias, rei de Judah: O cardo que estava no Libano mandou dizer ao cedro que estava no Libano: Dá tua filha a meu filho por mulher; porém os animaes do campo que estão no Libano passaram e pizaram o cardo.

19Tu dizes: Eis que tenho ferido os idumeos; e elevou-se o teu coração, para te gloriares: agora pois fica em tua casa; porque te entremetterias no mal, para caires tu e Judah comtigo?

20Porém Amasias não lhe deu ouvidos, porque isto vinha de Deus, para entregal-os na mão dos seus inimigos; porquanto buscaram os deuses dos idumeos.

21E Joás, rei d'Israel, subiu; e elle e Amasias, rei de Judah, se viram cara a cara em Beth-semes, que está em Judah.

22E Judah foi ferido diante d'Israel: e foram-se cada um para as suas tendas.

23E Joás, rei d'Israel, prendeu a Amasias, rei de Judah, filho de Joás, o filho de Joachaz em Beth-semes, e o trouxe a Jerusalem; e derribou o muro de Jerusalem, desde a porta d'Ephraim até á porta da esquina, quatrocentos covados.

24Tambem tomou todo o oiro, e a prata, e todos os vasos que se acharam na casa de Deus com Obed-edom, e os thesouros da casa do rei, e os refens; e voltou para Samaria.

25E viveu Amasias, filho de Joás, rei de Judah, depois da morte de Joás, filho de Joachaz, rei d'Israel, quinze annos.

26Quanto ao mais dos successos d'Amasias, tanto os primeiros como os ultimos, eis-que porventura não estão escriptos no livro dos reis de Judah e d'Israel?

27E desde o tempo que Amasias se desviou d'após o Senhor, conspiraram contra elle em Jerusalem, porém elle fugiu para Lachis, mas enviaram após elle a Lachis, e o mataram ali.

28E o trouxeram sobre cavallos e o sepultaram com seus paes na cidade de Judah.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Amaziah succeeds his father Joash and initially rules with justice, but makes a grave mistake by adopting the idols of the Edomites he had defeated in battle. He challenges the king of Israel to an unnecessary war, suffers a humiliating defeat, and is eventually assassinated in a conspiracy.

Explanation

Amaziah begins well, following the law of Moses by not punishing children for their parents' crimes (referring to the assassination of his own father), but his military success against Edom leads him into a strange and tragic mistake: he begins worshiping the very gods of the people he had just defeated, an illogical choice that a prophet confronts directly, asking why he would seek out gods that could not even deliver their own people from defeat. His subsequent pride leads him to needlessly challenge the king of Israel to battle, resulting in a humiliating defeat, with the walls of Jerusalem torn down and its treasures plundered. Amaziah's story serves as a warning that success in one area of life does not automatically guarantee wisdom in other decisions.

Fun facts

  • The king of Israel's parable comparing Amaziah to a 'thistle' trying to arrange a marriage alliance with a 'cedar' (referring to himself) is an example of poetic language used to arrogantly mock an adversary before a battle.
  • Amaziah's practice of hiring mercenaries from Israel before dismissing them on prophetic instruction, and the subsequent revenge attack by these same dismissed mercenaries against cities of Judah, shows the unforeseen complications of getting involved with mercenary military forces.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. 2 Crônicas 25:1Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he governed twenty-nine years in Jerusalem; his mother’s name was Jehoaddan, of Jerusalem.
  2. 2 Crônicas 25:2The Chronicler’s verdict already comes with a qualifier: Amaziah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not with a whole heart — a formula that foreshadows trouble.
  3. 2 Crônicas 25:3As soon as he consolidates power, Amaziah executes the servants who had assassinated his father, Joash.
  4. 2 Crônicas 25:4Following the law of Moses, Amaziah does not punish the children of these assassins, respecting the principle that each person answers only for their own sin.
  5. 2 Crônicas 25:5Amaziah organizes the army of Judah and Benjamin by family, counting three hundred thousand men above twenty years old, ready to fight with spear and shield.
  6. 2 Crônicas 25:6In addition, Amaziah hires a hundred thousand mercenary soldiers from the kingdom of Israel, paying a hundred talents of silver for their service.
  7. 2 Crônicas 25:7A man of God warns Amaziah not to bring the army of Israel along, because the Lord is not with that kingdom, especially not with the tribe of Ephraim.
  8. 2 Crônicas 25:8The prophet assures him that, even without those extra soldiers, God has the power both to help Judah and to make anyone fall before the enemy.
  9. 2 Crônicas 25:9Amaziah had already paid a hundred talents of silver to hire soldiers from Israel, but a prophet warns him that God is not with that kingdom and tells him to send them away. When the king protests about the lost money, the answer is direct: “The Lord is able to give thee much more than this.”
  10. 2 Crônicas 25:10Amaziah obeys and sends the soldiers from Ephraim back home, but they are furious at being dismissed and go home in a rage.
  11. 2 Crônicas 25:11With his reduced army, Amaziah confidently marches to the Valley of Salt and there defeats ten thousand men of Seir.
  12. 2 Crônicas 25:12Besides those killed in battle, Judah captures ten thousand more alive and throws them off the top of a cliff, killing all of them on impact.
  13. 2 Crônicas 25:13Meanwhile, the soldiers from Ephraim whom Amaziah had dismissed raid cities of Judah between Samaria and Beth-horon, kill three thousand people, and carry off a large amount of plunder — revenge for being sent home.
  14. 2 Crônicas 25:14After defeating the Edomites, Amaziah comes back bringing their own gods with him and begins to worship them — an odd choice, adopting the religion of the very people he had just defeated in battle, and the text marks it as a plain mistake.
  15. 2 Crônicas 25:15Seeing that Amaziah has begun worshiping the gods of Edom, the Lord’s anger burns against him, and a prophet is sent to confront him directly.
  16. 2 Crônicas 25:16Amaziah arrogantly cuts the prophet off, asking whether he has been made a counselor to the king — the prophet stops, but warns that God has already decided to destroy him for not listening to his advice.
  17. 2 Crônicas 25:17Puffed up by his victory over Edom, Amaziah challenges Joash, king of Israel, to a direct confrontation — “Come, let us see one another in the face.”
  18. 2 Crônicas 25:18Joash answers with an ironic fable, comparing Amaziah to a small thistle trying to match itself with a great cedar, one that ends up trampled by any wild animal passing by.
  19. 2 Crônicas 25:19Puffed up by his victory over Edom, Amaziah provokes the king of Israel into an unnecessary war, and the reply he gets is an ironic comparison: he is like a thistle comparing itself to a cedar. Pride after a victory becomes the direct cause of the defeat that follows.
  20. 2 Crônicas 25:20Amaziah does not listen to the warning, because it came from God Himself, who was determined to hand him over to his enemies because of the idolatry he had taken up.
  21. 2 Crônicas 25:21Joash advances, and the two kings meet in direct battle at the city of Beth-shemesh, in the territory of Judah.
  22. 2 Crônicas 25:22Judah is defeated before Israel, and every soldier flees back to his own home.
  23. 2 Crônicas 25:23Joash captures Amaziah at Beth-shemesh, takes him prisoner to Jerusalem, and tears down a huge stretch of the city wall, from one gate to another.
  24. 2 Crônicas 25:24Joash also plunders the gold, the silver, and the vessels of the temple, along with the treasures of the palace and hostages, before returning to Samaria.
  25. 2 Crônicas 25:25Amaziah lives fifteen years after the death of Joash, king of Israel, continuing his own reign in Judah.
  26. 2 Crônicas 25:26The rest of Amaziah’s deeds, from beginning to end, are recorded in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.
  27. 2 Crônicas 25:27After Amaziah turns away from the Lord, a conspiracy forms against him in Jerusalem; he flees to Lachish, but the conspirators catch up with him there and kill him.
  28. 2 Crônicas 25:28Amaziah’s body is brought back on horses and buried with his ancestors in the city of Judah, closing out a reign that began well and ended in betrayal.

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